For The Love Of A Whitelighter
by Piper Wyatt
Summary: Leo gets hits by a potion and gets turned into a Darklighter can the love of his wife save him?
1. Default Chapter

**Standard disclaimer. I do not own any of the Charmed character**  
  
Part One  
  
Night had fallen and the city of San Francisco welcomed the darkness. In the corner of the city where your average man was afraid to go and rightly so, a meeting was taking place. Dariel was his name. He would have been considered handsome if not for the darkness that had over taken his soul. Her had been trying now for over a month to rid himself of the thorn in his side, to rid himself of the Charmed Ones. Blasted, they were hard to kill.  
  
"Somebody tell my why we can't kill three little witches, regardless of who they are." Dariel asked in a deceptively calm voice.  
  
"With all due respect, they aren't so little and it's not as if my men have all failed. We have killed them."  
  
"And yet they breathe."  
  
"It's their Whitelighter. He is always there."  
  
"Of course he is." Dariel responded. "He's married to one of those she- witches."  
  
"Well, if it wasn't for him, the witches would be long dead."  
  
"Really?" A thought began to form. So vile and simple in nature that he chastised himself for not thinking of it sooner. "That is easily rectified."  
  
"Dariel?"  
  
"We turn him, make him a brethren. He is what I once was, now he will become what I am. Turn love into hate, goodness to evil and loyalty into betrayal. Not only will he not be there to heal their bodies, he will crush their spirits. That which he loves he will not rest till he destroys." The Dariel did something that he hadn't done in quite some time. He laughed.  
Piper awoke early, which was nothing unusual, her unborn child rarely let her sleep past 6:00. What was unexpected was her husband sleeping soundly by her side, snoring softly. She had grown so accustomed to waking alone that she had almost forgotten what it was like to wake up next to him. Piper brushed the hair out of her face and leaned over and kissed Leo seriously, slowly awakening him.  
  
"Piper, what have I told you about starting things you can't finish?" Leo asked keeping his eyes closed.  
  
"Oh, I plan on finishing this." She kissed him again and was pleasantly surprised by the ardor in which he returned her kiss. They really hadn't had much time for them as a couple. Three months after they had been married at what should have been the happiest time in a newlyweds life, her sister Prue was killed. It killed a lot of the romance along with it. It was nice to be together, alone in each other's arms, remembering why they fell in love and why they fought so hard to be together.  
Piper awoke for the second time. Only this time she did find Leo gone, but somehow she felt much better about that. She reluctantly pulled herself out of bed and pulled on her oversized shirt and drawstring sweatpants. It was getting harder and harder for her to find clothes that fit her and she was still several months away from her due date. She slowly descended the stairs but as she did she felt a cold chill. Something wasn't right, she felt a cold chill, like evil lurking in the corner of her mind just out of sight. Part of her just chalked it up to hormones, the other half wasn't so sure.  
  
"Who's there?" she called out. No one answered. She continued on, thinking herself as being way too sensitive. Once in the kitchen she poured herself a cup of hot tea before she headed over to P3.  
  
"Hello witch." A cold voice said behind her.  
  
"Paige! Phoebe! Get in here!"  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"What we all want." Dariel responded. "The blood of the Charmed Ones on my hands. And you are finally going to give it to me,"  
  
Phoebe and Paige appeared in the doorway.  
  
"I don't have time for this." Piper complained as she attempted to blow him up. Nothing happened. "It didn't work? Why didn't it work?"  
  
"Did you really think that I would come into this house without some sort of protection?" Dariel raised his hand and sent Piper flying through the air landing hard again the stove knocking her out. Dariel then vanished in a swirl of black smoke.  
  
"Piper!" Paige yelled as she ran across the room to Piper. "She's alive, but she's hurt." Blood was slowly trickled down her forehead.  
  
"Leo!" Phoebe yelled. "Leo, we need you!"  
  
Leo orbed in to find his wife sprawled on the kitchen floor. The cut on her head was already starting to heal. Evidently the baby was taking steps to protect itself and its mother.  
  
"Leo?" Piper said softly as she regained consciousness.  
  
"You okay?" Leo asked helping Piper to her feet.  
  
"Yeah, I."Dariel appeared behind Leo holding a vial containing a black liquid.  
  
"Hello Leo." Dariel said right before he through the vial at Leo, it landed at his feet and smoke engulfed him. "Call me when you're ready, brother."  
  
"Leo!" Piper screamed. "Leo!" she grabbed at him to make sure he was alright.  
  
"Oh no! Not this." He whispered.  
  
"Leo, talk to me." Piper said trying to help her husband and calm her own fears at the same time.  
  
"I don't have much time, Piper." He tried to smile at her. " It is a kind of poison, at least to Whitelighters."  
  
"Darklighter poison? I thought they had to shoot you with a laced arrow?"  
  
"It's initiate poison. It's what they give to mortals to turn them into Darklighters."  
  
"What are you saying Leo?" Piper asked suddenly very afraid.  
  
"I'm saying vanquish me while you have the chance. In three days there will be nothing left of me. "  
  
"No." Piper said. "This will not happen, I won't let it."  
  
"For once Baby, you have absolutely no say in this" his blue eyes then clouded over being replaced by darkness. He then vanished from sight.  
  
Piper just stood there in disbelief before she disintegrated in a heap on the floor and began to cry. Phoebe and Paige just looked on, trying to comprehend what just happened. All they knew, is that their sisters life had been shattered in an instant. They now had to figure out what they were going to do.  
----END OF PART ONE---- 


	2. For the Love of A Whitelighter Part 2

**Standard disclaimer. I do not own any of the Charmed character**  
  
Part One  
  
Night had fallen and the city of San Francisco welcomed the darkness. In the corner of the city where your average man was afraid to go and rightly so, a meeting was taking place. Dariel was his name. He would have been considered handsome if not for the darkness that had over taken his soul. Her had been trying now for over a month to rid himself of the thorn in his side, to rid himself of the Charmed Ones. Blasted, they were hard to kill.  
  
"Somebody tell my why we can't kill three little witches, regardless of who they are." Dariel asked in a deceptively calm voice.  
  
"With all due respect, they aren't so little and it's not as if my men have all failed. We have killed them."  
  
"And yet they breathe."  
  
"It's their Whitelighter. He is always there."  
  
"Of course he is." Dariel responded. "He's married to one of those she- witches."  
  
"Well, if it wasn't for him, the witches would be long dead."  
  
"Really?" A thought began to form. So vile and simple in nature that he chastised himself for not thinking of it sooner. "That is easily rectified."  
  
"Dariel?"  
  
"We turn him, make him a brethren. He is what I once was, now he will become what I am. Turn love into hate, goodness to evil and loyalty into betrayal. Not only will he not be there to heal their bodies, he will crush their spirits. That which he loves he will not rest till he destroys." The Dariel did something that he hadn't done in quite some time. He laughed.  
Piper awoke early, which was nothing unusual, her unborn child rarely let her sleep past 6:00. What was unexpected was her husband sleeping soundly by her side, snoring softly. She had grown so accustomed to waking alone that she had almost forgotten what it was like to wake up next to him. Piper brushed the hair out of her face and leaned over and kissed Leo seriously, slowly awakening him.  
  
"Piper, what have I told you about starting things you can't finish?" Leo asked keeping his eyes closed.  
  
"Oh, I plan on finishing this." She kissed him again and was pleasantly surprised by the ardor in which he returned her kiss. They really hadn't had much time for them as a couple. Three months after they had been married at what should have been the happiest time in a newlyweds life, her sister Prue was killed. It killed a lot of the romance along with it. It was nice to be together, alone in each other's arms, remembering why they fell in love and why they fought so hard to be together.  
Piper awoke for the second time. Only this time she did find Leo gone, but somehow she felt much better about that. She reluctantly pulled herself out of bed and pulled on her oversized shirt and drawstring sweatpants. It was getting harder and harder for her to find clothes that fit her and she was still several months away from her due date. She slowly descended the stairs but as she did she felt a cold chill. Something wasn't right, she felt a cold chill, like evil lurking in the corner of her mind just out of sight. Part of her just chalked it up to hormones, the other half wasn't so sure.  
  
"Who's there?" she called out. No one answered. She continued on, thinking herself as being way too sensitive. Once in the kitchen she poured herself a cup of hot tea before she headed over to P3.  
  
"Hello witch." A cold voice said behind her.  
  
"Paige! Phoebe! Get in here!"  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"What we all want." Dariel responded. "The blood of the Charmed Ones on my hands. And you are finally going to give it to me,"  
  
Phoebe and Paige appeared in the doorway.  
  
"I don't have time for this." Piper complained as she attempted to blow him up. Nothing happened. "It didn't work? Why didn't it work?"  
  
"Did you really think that I would come into this house without some sort of protection?" Dariel raised his hand and sent Piper flying through the air landing hard again the stove knocking her out. Dariel then vanished in a swirl of black smoke.  
  
"Piper!" Paige yelled as she ran across the room to Piper. "She's alive, but she's hurt." Blood was slowly trickled down her forehead.  
  
"Leo!" Phoebe yelled. "Leo, we need you!"  
  
Leo orbed in to find his wife sprawled on the kitchen floor. The cut on her head was already starting to heal. Evidently the baby was taking steps to protect itself and its mother.  
  
"Leo?" Piper said softly as she regained consciousness.  
  
"You okay?" Leo asked helping Piper to her feet.  
  
"Yeah, I."Dariel appeared behind Leo holding a vial containing a black liquid.  
  
"Hello Leo." Dariel said right before he through the vial at Leo, it landed at his feet and smoke engulfed him. "Call me when you're ready, brother."  
  
"Leo!" Piper screamed. "Leo!" she grabbed at him to make sure he was alright.  
  
"Oh no! Not this." He whispered.  
  
"Leo, talk to me." Piper said trying to help her husband and calm her own fears at the same time.  
  
"I don't have much time, Piper." He tried to smile at her. " It is a kind of poison, at least to Whitelighters."  
  
"Darklighter poison? I thought they had to shoot you with a laced arrow?"  
  
"It's initiate poison. It's what they give to mortals to turn them into Darklighters."  
  
"What are you saying Leo?" Piper asked suddenly very afraid.  
  
"I'm saying vanquish me while you have the chance. In three days there will be nothing left of me. "  
  
"No." Piper said. "This will not happen, I won't let it."  
  
"For once Baby, you have absolutely no say in this" his blue eyes then clouded over being replaced by darkness. He then vanished from sight.  
  
Piper just stood there in disbelief before she disintegrated in a heap on the floor and began to cry. Phoebe and Paige just looked on, trying to comprehend what just happened. All they knew, is that their sisters life had been shattered in an instant. They now had to figure out what they were going to do.  
----END OF PART ONE---- 


	3. For the Love of a Whitelighter Part 3

Piper slept fitfully, her dreams were uneasy and filled with familiar images, mostly involving her and Leo. When they first met, their first kiss even though that isn't the kiss she knew he would consider the first since he was under a truth spell. She dreamt of their wedding, of the way he tried to comfort her when Prue died. She dreamt of everything that ever made her fall in love with him in the first place. Then things grew darker, she was lost and running and couldn't find her way until she ran into someone. Her heart was filled with fear and dread. She looked up to see Leo, only she knew it wasn't real. "Piper," Leo said. "It's alright, it's me. At least what is left of me." "Leo, how is this possible." Piper asked reaching out to touch his face. "I did it once before remember?" Leo said looking lovingly into his wife's face. "When you were taken from me before." Piper said recalling when they tried to get married the first time. "Does this mean you're coming back." "I wish I could, Piper. But the potion is too great as is Dariel's hold on me." "What about my hold on you and the hold on you that your family has!" Piper was angry, there was no other word for it. "I'm sorry, Piper, I am. The only reason I am here now is because I am sleeping and the other part of me, the darker part is subdued for the time being. But that won't last long soon he will be dominate." "He?" "Me. The darklighter that I am becoming. Piper, it makes me sick to my soul but I am not strong enough to fight this and neither are you." "Don't count me out yet, Leo. I love you and I will not let you go so easily. We didn't fight so hard to be together for it to all this way. It can't, it won't. I will not let it. Do you understand me. Not even you will keep me away from you. So just hold on, baby, I'm coming to get you. Even if I have to walk through hell to do it. " "You just might have to. There is less and less of me left with ever passing hour, Piper." He tried to smile but there was no joy there, only sorrow. "Leo, please. There has to be a way." "If there is I don't know what it is. The elders are the only one's who would have that kind of information and without me you can't get to them. I am so sorry Piper. I love you, never forget that." Leo bent his head down and kissed his wife for what he supposed to be the last time. "I love you" he whispered and then was gone.  
  
Piper sat up with a start, sweat was beaded at her forehead. A dream, it was just a dream, she told herself but she knew otherwise. She had been through it all before. She stood up and walked back over to the book. There in a large script that she recognized immediately to be her Grams she saw the words written across the page. 'For The Love Of A Whitelighter' There was a spell written beneath it. It was a power of three spell, she was going to need her sisters for this. She grabbed the book and ran as fast as she could down the stairs. "Paige! Phoebe!" she yelled when she hit the landing. " Paige!" "Piper, you should be sleeping." Phoebe admonished as she came out of the kitchen to find her sister in a near panic. "Not now, I need your help. I found a spell.or rather I was given one." "Given?" Paige asked. "From Grams. This won't get Leo back but it will hopefully give me some answers as how to get him back." Grams?" Phoebe repeated. "Are you sure about this, Piper?" "Phoebe, I am running out of time. " Piper looked at the clock. "In less than twenty four hours he will be lost to me.forever." "Okay, Piper. What do you need?" Paige asked "I need you to say this spell.please." They all gathered by Piper and clasped hands and recited the incantation as it was written in the book. "From our hearts, to the sky, let our pleas be realized. Send us to one who will heal our hearts, and help restore what's been torn apart." They said in unison. Swirls of golden lights encircled them as they disappeared only to reappear up there, up where the elders live. "What?" Paige said as they materialized. "Are we where I think we are?" Phoebe asked. Piper couldn't believe it, she had only been here twice before, only once that she could actually remember. She didn't expect this when she said the spell, she wan't sure what she did expect to happen, but not this. A figure clad in white approached them. She couldn't make out the features because of the brilliant light that encapsulated the place. "Hello my darlings." The voice said and there was no mistaking whose voice that was. "Grams!" Phoebe exclaimed. "What are we doing here?" "Saving your husband. Now come with me quickly, before anyone notices you are here." "Grams?" Piper asked. "What did you do?" "Broke a few rules." She smiled impishly. "Okay, I broke a lot. But that doesn't matter now. All that matters is that we put back what should never had been allowed to happen. I think the Elders will understand. They don't like one of their own taken my evil, especially if that one is Leo. As much as they have gotten on him over the years about you and his preoccupation with you and your sisters. I think they admire his courage of standing up to them. But that is neither here or there now. We have a battle to plan for. And you my darling," Grams said as she looked at Piper. "You need to prepare for an all out war."  
  
END OF PART THREE 


	4. For the Love of a Whitelighter Part 4

"Grams!" Piper yelled after her grandmother Penelope Halliwell in a hushed tone so not to be heard by any wandering elders. "Grams!"  
  
"Shh!" She replied. She led them down what appeared to be a long hallway that seemed to be illuminated from within. There was something vaguely familiar with the path they were taking. Piper chalked it up to maybe this is where she was with Leo the first time she came up here. Grams stopped walking when she reached a small chamber.  
  
"Okay Grams.spill" Phoebe said looking about in awe.  
  
"Well, it really is quite simple. You want Leo back. I have a way for you to do that. But you will have to have great courage and by you I mean."  
  
"You mean me." Piper said as Paige place her hand reassuringly on her sisters arm.  
  
"It comes down to this. Either you bring Leo back or you will have to kill him."  
  
"No." A cry escaped from within Piper's soul. "I can't kill him, even if he is a Darlighter. I can't do it."  
  
"Then you will all die. Grams stated looking seriously at her grand- daughter. "He will kill you as sure as you breathe. You are what he loves most so because of that damnable potion you will become what he hates the most. You will be an icon for weakness he now perceives his love to be and he WILL destroy you if given the chance."  
  
Piper just stared at her Grams in horror, he head was racing. Her mind couldn't fathom the reality of the situation until now. The words kill Leo kept echoing through her brain like some perverse nightmare which she wouldn't seem to wake up from.  
  
"What can we do?" Paige asked. "Wouldn't everything just go back to the way it was if we vanquish Dariel? It's worked before."  
  
Grams just shook her head. "No, my darlings, It wasn't a spell that did this it was a potion, one which there is no counter. She hands a small vial to Piper. "I do however have this and don't bother asking me where I got it from, I would just have to lie to you."  
  
"What is it?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"It will clip his Whitelighter wings in a way." Grams said.  
  
"I don't understand." Piper replied. "What good is clipping his wings if he already is a Darklighter."  
  
"But he's not one.at least not completely. You remember the proverbial 48 hour window when Paige first came into her power? It works the same way. You have to make him choose light and love and everything else that he has before those 48 hours are up. If can reach him in time, he can be saved. If not then when the evil takes completely over and the potion in that vial wears off, he will either kill you or you will kill him."  
  
Piper's hands started to shake. Her heart was pounding like a sledge hammer within her chest. The fear and adrenaline were too much for her. She then did the one thing she had never before done in her life, she passed out.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Piper awoke only to find herself laying on the same couch that she had fallen asleep on earlier in the day. She wondered briefly if it had all been a dream, She then saw the small vial in her hand that contained a golden liquid. She looked at her watch, she had lost so much time up there. Eight hours left. She was about to call for her sisters when they entered the attic carrying crystals and some other supplies from the kitchen.  
  
"We thought that you would want to get started." Paige said running her hand through her still red hair.  
  
"How do we call him though. I don't think he will reply to our usual summons." Phoebe said setting up the crystals.  
  
"We augment the 'To Find A Lost Witch' spell to a Find A Lost Love. You guys ready?" Piper sighed as she rose to her feet.  
  
"Are you?" Phoebe asked putting the last crystal down.  
  
"No, but that can't be helped." Piper said sighing deeply.  
  
"It's okay sweetie, we'll do this together. The power of three." Paige said as she opened the book.  
  
"I hope this works." Piper said before taking hold of her sisters hands.  
  
"Powers of the witches rise, Course unseen across the skies. Come to us who call you near. Come to us and settle here. Heart to heart I summon thee. Heart to heart Return to me." Piper chanted and he held tightly to Phoebe and Paige. The wind began to roar through the attic and the windows shook.  
  
"Well, something is coming." Paige said as she lifted one crystal off the ground to let Leo have entry.  
  
A whirl of black and white orbs appeared to fill the room and reconstituted themselves into Leo. Paige slammed back down the last crystal.  
  
Leo stood in the middle of the crystals encapsulated as it were. He looked around at the three of them. Oh, he was going to enjoy killing each of them. He blood pounded with it. He didn't need the eight hours he had left, he was ready now. And he would start with his wife.  
  
"You think a crystal prison can hold me, witch?" he glowered. "I am more powerful than you. I can kill you with a touch." His hand glowed red. "Or I can do it with an arrow." A Darklighter crossbow appeared in his hand. He fired only to have it hit and deflect off the protective shield that the crystals created.  
  
"I am not so easy to kill either, Leo." Piper said looking at him. "Now we can do this the easy way. All you have to do is choose to come back."  
  
"Your Leo is dead!" Piper was actually afraid of Leo for the first time in her life. There was nothing left of him reflected in his eyes. Made her believe that the dream she had had of him had been just that, a dream. It was already too late.  
  
"No, it's not too late!" Phoebe exclaimed recognizing the look on Piper's face. It was the same looks she had seen mirrored on her own when she realized she had lost Cole to evil and that there was nothing that she could do about it. When she realized that she was not enough to break evil's hold. But Piper was enough, she had to be.  
  
"Piper, listen to me. I don't know why this happened but I have watched you and Leo from the beginning. You two beat the odds before when the Elders told you it was prohibited that you see each other again. When the doctors told you you would never get pregnant. Piper, fight for him! Hold on with all your might and don't let go. Maybe if I fought a little harder I could have saved Cole. Besides that, there may be one more reason we failed to consider."  
  
"What?" Paige asked giving voice to the question in Piper's eyes.  
  
"My baby was evil because Cole was evil. If Leo completely turns what happens to the baby?"  
  
"Oh, my God!" Piper said softly. "But Cole was evil when you got pregnant. Surely."  
  
"Can you be sure?" Phoebe inquired.  
  
Piper took a deep breath, turned to look at the cold smile on Leo. He was actually enjoying this. "Alright, lets begin." She threw the potion in her hand which lit up the attic in a shower of light and sparks.  
End of Part 4 


	5. For the Love of a Whitelighter Part 5

"Okay, let's do this." Piper smiled at her sisters. "I need you to leave."  
  
Paige and phoebe just looked at each other and then at Piper "What? No way"  
  
"Listen to me." Piper explained. "This is not open for debate. I need him and in order for me to even have a chance of reaching him. I need to be alone with him."  
  
"I don't think this is such a good idea." Phoebe replied.  
  
"Listen to your sister, witch. You don't want to be left alone with me. I'm your worst nightmare. I am everything you ever feared coming true." Leo yelled from within the protective shield.  
  
"You got that right." Piper sighed. "Living my life without you is my worst nightmare. You're part of my soul, Leo, and I can't let go of that." For just a second Piper swore she saw something flash within his eyes. Something akin to light. But it was gone as soon as it happened so she couldn't be sure she had actually seen anything at it. It could have just been wishful thinking.  
  
"Piper?" Paige asked not really wanting to leave her sister alone. She felt that she was too vulnerable.  
  
"It's okay, guys. He's not going to hurt me."  
  
Phoebe and Paige looked once again at their sister feeling not for the first time just a little bit helpless. "Yell if you need us." Paige said.  
  
"I will." They both turned and left, leaving a very frightened Piper alone.  
  
"You are very foolish." Leo declared.  
  
"Yes, I am. I am also very determined." Piper walked closer to the shield; almost close enough to touch him. She almost ached for that regardless of the consequences. She sat and talked to him like she used to, he laughed and hurled insults and threats at her. For hours this went on. She was running out of time and she knew it.  
  
"You think it is just me you have to concern yourself with. Dariel will come for me or should I say for you." Leo practically snarled.  
  
"Let him come, Leo. It doesn't really matter. I can get through just about anything.except losing you. My whole world fell apart when Prue died. But you picked me up, brushed me off and made me want to continue breathing again. And you brought me back from despair. And now we're having a baby." Piper kicked a crystal out of place knowing the potion that Grams had given her was still in affect. "I know somewhere in there you're still fighting, struggling to come back to me."  
  
"You are wrong, witch!" Leo yelled as he rose to his full height. "And you are stupid as well, While you had me in your cage you had a chance, but no more. Now I am afraid I will have to kill you." He lunged towards Piper; she froze him before he got too far.  
  
"What is there left for me to do?" Piper asked herself. "Is this how you want it to end?" She yelled at him. She was angry now. The fear was gone, just a blinding rage took over. "How dare you do this? How dare you leave me like this?" In her mind at that moment he had turned his back on everything that they had fought so hard for. All the pain that they went through was for naught. It was all in vain if this was how it was going to end.  
  
A burst of dark smoke and Dariel appeared, darklighter bow in hand.  
  
"Phoebe! Paige! I need you!" She froze Dariel but not before he had a chance to fire one of his arrows, she managed to avoid it by diving out of the way. This was the end; she could feel it in her bones, in her soul. Question was, the end for whom?  
  
"Piper!!" Phoebe exclaimed when she and Paige entered the attic.  
  
"Ooh!" Piper groaned getting to her feet. Dariel and Leo unfroze at once.  
  
"I am so going to enjoy this." Dariel stated.  
  
"Dariel, I have no powers. They stole them." Leo explained.  
  
"I know all about it. There isn't much under heaven I don't know. They should be wearing off about now. You are stronger than any potion."  
  
The words echoed in Piper's brain. 'Stronger than any potion' Grams told her she would have to kill Leo,  
  
"Oh, my God." Piper whispered. "Phoebe, how much time do we have left?"  
  
"Not much, about twenty minutes. Grams potion has probably worn off."  
  
"I know. That's what I'm praying for. I need you and Paige to deal with Dariel. I don't care what you do to him." Piper said staring at Leo and never losing eye contact.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Paige asked.  
  
"I'm going to vanquish my husband!"  
  
"What?" Paige and Phoebe said in unison.  
  
"Just trust me okay?" She unfroze Leo and Dariel.  
  
"You can't keep freezing me all night." Leo said.  
  
"Actually, I can"  
  
From behind Phoebe did a roundhouse kick and knocked Dariel to the floor with in the confines of the crystal containment. Paige slammed the crystal back in place imprisoning Dariel.  
  
Leo looked around confused at what was happening. "What are you doing?  
  
"Taking a leap of faith. Something you taught me how to do. And though that might not mean that much to you right now, it means the world to me. I'm sorry."  
  
"Sorry?" A touch of fear entered his voice.  
  
Piper took a deep breath, closed her eyes and drew on her power. "I love you, Leo."  
  
"Piper!" Phoebe screamed.  
  
"I love you." Piper repeated before releasing her will and exploding Leo into a thousand little pieces. Then there was silence.  
  
Piper fell to her knees sobbing. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Piper, why?" Paige asked in shock.  
  
"There was no other way. It's just like Dariel said. He IS stronger that the potion."  
  
A swirl of white lights orbed into the room. In the center stood Leo looking weary, but himself,  
  
"Leo!" Piper yelled as she ran into his arms. "Is it you?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me. I don't know how you did it."  
  
"I figured as long as you weren't a complete Darlighter, if I used my exploding power it should separate the two halves. The Darklighter from the Whitelighter. Which would allow your whitelighter soul to reconstitute."  
  
"It worked, Hell of a risk though." Leo said smiling at his wife.  
  
"You were lost either way. At least this way I had a chance. We had a chance. I love you Leo."  
  
"I love you too, Piper."  
  
"What about him?" Leo asked with contempt looking at Dariel.  
  
"Phoebe and I will take care of him." Paige declared near tears. This nightmare was over.  
  
Leo stared at his beautiful wife, the pulled her closer and kissed her.  
  
"Welcome home." Piper took his hand and together they walked out of the attic and back into their lives as a family. 


End file.
